The present invention relates to a process of producing a silethylene oxide in high yield. 2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, to produce a silethylene oxide represented by the following formula: ##STR2## dimethylchlorosilane and dimethylchlorovinylsilane are subjected to an addition reaction, followed by hydrolysis and then thermal decomposition in the presence of an alkali (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 82, 1883 (1960), U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,362, and J. Poly. Sci. 12, 1089 (1974)).
This process is attended with problems, for example, first since the reaction mixture after the thermal decomposition reaction is in admixture with the alkali, the subsequent purification by distillation readily results in polymerization of the silethylene oxide to lower the yield of the silethylene oxide considerably, which sometimes yields no silethylene oxide at all, or even if a silethylene oxide is obtained, since the alkali is in admixture with the silethylene oxide, similar polymerization of the silethylene oxide takes place during the storage in some cases. Secondly since the alkali is used in the form of an aqueous solution and water used for the aqueous solution is incorporated in the reaction product, the water reacts readily with the silethylene oxide during the storage or at the time of the purification by distillation to form solid 2,5-disilahexane-2,5-diol to lower the yield or to clog the inside of the distillation apparatus.